About Me
My Short/Speaker Bio
Dr. Ben Baran is an organizational psychologist and award-winning management professor at Cleveland State University, co-founder of the management consulting firm Indigo Anchor, co-host of The Indigo Podcast, and a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
He is the author of 25 publications on leadership, management, and adversity. He frequently advises executives and other senior leaders. In his military service, Ben has led people and projects around the world from the California coast to Afghanistan.
When not working, Ben enjoys picking up heavy things and running—sometimes at the same time, but not usually. He lives near Cleveland, Ohio, with his wife and children.
My Longer, More Official Bio
Dr. Benjamin E. Baran is a co-founder and principal of the management consulting firm Indigo Anchor, co-host of The Indigo Podcast, and an associate professor of management in Cleveland State University’s Monte Ahuja College of Business, where his teaching focuses primarily on human resource management and organizational behavior. He began his academic career at Northern Kentucky University, where he was the 2012 recipient of the Haile/US Bank College of Business Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Teaching.
In his research, Dr. Baran focuses on the intersection of human resource management with leadership and organizational change, high-reliability organizing, and employee well-being. His research has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of scholarly journals, including Human Relations, the Journal of Business and Psychology, the Journal of Vocational Behavior, Organization, the Journal of Managerial Psychology, the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, Small Group Research, the Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Accident Analysis and Prevention, and Military Psychology, among others. He is an active member of the Academy of Management, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Society for Human Resource Management. He regularly presents his research at national conferences. He serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Business and Psychology.
Dr. Baran delivers consulting solutions to organizations across a wide range of industries and sectors. He holds certifications as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from the HR Certification Institute and as a SHRM Senior Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management. He is also an appointed member of the Military and Veterans Commission for the City of Hudson, Ohio. With his wife, Lindsay, he facilitates the annual Vincent William Baran Day of Service in memory of their son.
Prior to joining academia, Dr. Baran served as a public-relations professional at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and as an active-duty officer in the U.S. Navy. A veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, he served as a surface warfare officer aboard USS Preble (DDG 88) and completed numerous operations at sea from the California coast to the Arabian Gulf. He continues his military service as a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Dr. Baran was recalled to active military service in November 2012 and served within NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan from December 2012 to December 2013 as a management and training consultant to the Afghan National Police in Kabul, Afghanistan. Dr. Baran is an active member of the U.S. Navy’s Human Resources Community and led the Navy’s performance evaluation transformation efforts from October 201 to September 2022. He is in command of his third Navy Reserve unit, and he continues to serve as a senior advisor to the Navy’s Talent Management Center of Excellence. He completed Joint Professional Military Education Phase I and Phase II through the U.S. Naval War College and National Defense University’s Joint Forces Staff College, respectively.
Dr. Baran holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and communication from Villanova University and earned his master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology and Ph.D. in organizational science from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Most of the time, he can be found in the Cleveland/Akron area of Ohio.